Closure Cap For Using With Containers to Allow Sharing Drinks in a Hygienic Manner

ABSTRACT

A closure cap for a beverage container that enables people to share beverages from the same container in a hygienic manner. The closure cap comprises a central capping member with a plurality of drinking tubes attached thereto. Each tube can be opened for drinking while the remaining tubes stay closed and they are preferably distinguishable from each other by markings, color, etc. In particular embodiments, each of the drinking tubes or the central member comprises a one-way valve allowing beverage to flow through the drinking tubes in only the outward direction, thereby preventing saliva, or beverage that has entered a drinker&#39;s mouth, from returning to the container. In such embodiments, the closure cap preferably has one or more pressure equalizing holes to equalize the air pressure inside the container as the beverage is consumed, and optional one-way valves to prevent beverage leakage via the pressure equalizing holes.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a closed beverage container's closure cap, in particular a closure cap that allows sharing a beverage container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Beverage containers, and the plethora of related caps, tops and closures associated therewith, can be found everywhere. Such beverage containers are frequently packaged and sold as beverage bottles, which are typically formed of plastic (such as PET) or glass and are commonly sold as personal-size bottles with a volume of between ⅛ liter and ¾ liter or large format bottles with typical volumes of a liter or more.

Many of these personal-size bottles employ differing valve top technologies that allow a user to close and open a container. A known top found in many personal-size beverage containers is the ubiquitous push/pull drink spout which requires a user to pull the outer top shell upward thereby creating a passageway for the liquid to flow through. Another known top is a threaded drink spout that requires the user to turn the outer top shell thereby creating a passageway for the liquid to flow through.

These drink spouts are typically embedded in the bottle cap, thereby providing the necessary hygiene for a single drinker. Such drink spouts do not provide a hygienic condition in the event where more than one person wishes to drink from the same bottle, due to the fact that the drinking spout itself becomes unclean once the first drinker drinks from the bottle, in addition saliva, or liquid, which has entered a drinker's mouth, can easily return back into the bottle.

Family-sized bottles typically have a simple threaded cap and, in order to hygienically share a drink from these bottles, the drink must be poured into a cup or other personal container.

The necessity to pour the drink into a cup or the like is problematic mainly due to the following reasons:

-   -   a) It requires a clean cup, which is not always available,         especially when traveling.     -   b) The cup needs to be washed afterwards resulting with a waste         of water, waste of cleaning detergent, and generating         environmentally harmful waste; or requires a disposable cup,         which also contributes to environmental waste.

The same problems exist with other types of closed beverage containers such as thermoses, water bags and drink boxes.

Publications in the field include the following:

U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,369, issued on Nov. 2, 1999 to Yurkewicz., titled “Resealable pushable container closure and cover therefore” describes a container closure comprising a single drinking tube spanning the entire top of the closure cap. The straw design does not allow a plurality of people to hygienically drink from the same container.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,194, issued on Oct. 31, 1995 to Barnwell, titled “Self-venting straw tip”, discloses a solitary straw for a drinking container that is self-ventilating and self-sealing. The straw has two parts, a straw tip and a straw cover. The cover is retained on the straw tip and is movable by manual pressure between a closed position and an open position.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,087, issued on Nov. 3, 1992 to Mandell, titled “Drinking straw” discloses a drinking straw designed to demonstrate the need for teamwork of multiple (typically two) people (such as in the basic “love straw” configuration). All the drinking straws are connected to common hollow chamber, and only when all drinkers suck their straws simultaneously, a partial vacuum is generated in the common hollow chamber so that a beverage is drawn up through the straws and into the drinker's mouths. The drinking straw is suited for use with “open-type” drink containers (such as a cup or a pitcher) and is not adapted for use with “closed-type” containers such as portable plastic bottles. In addition the drinking straw can only allow simultaneous drinking by all drinkers and it does not provide means to hermetically close the straw to prevent liquid from flowing through it while not in use.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,318, issued on Oct. 13, 1987, to Donatello et al., titled “Closure cap” discloses a closure cap for enabling more than one person to simultaneously drink a beverage from a container in much the same fashion as a straw is used. The closure cap includes a plurality of tubes which are secured to a base member. The closure cap is designed for use with “open-type” containers such as a pitcher, and is not adapted for “closed-type” portable containers.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,747, issued on Apr. 8, 1980, to Quigley, titled “Flexible drinking tube with check valve” describes a single flexible drinking tube having a check valve with a flapper at one end for invalids that experience considerable difficulty in sipping liquids from a glass, or other “open-type” container, placed on a bedside table. The tubes are designed to be clipped on the glass which remains on a bedside table, whereby sucking through the tube raises the beverage to the drinker's mouth. A check valve within the flexible drinking tube reduces the effort required to suck the drink.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,527 issued on Apr. 15, 1969 by Elton Berry, titled “Drinking straws” discloses a low cost drinking straw for drinking from a container, where the drinking straw is tightly fitted into an opening in the container in order to prevent spillage. The straw does not provide for a plurality of people drinking from the same container or means to close itself while not in use.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,813,285, issued on Jul. 7, 1931, to Galetschky, titled “Soda straw” describes a valve attachment for soda straws with the primary object of preventing a beverage which has been drawn into the straw from receding back into the container when drinker stops drawing on the straw. The straw is designed for use with “open-type” containers such as pitchers and glasses, and does not provide means to close itself while not in use.

US Patent Application No. 20050150894, issued on Jul. 14, 2005, to Stribling, et al., titled “Leakage protection” provides a flexible check valve in a beverage flow path of a straw to prevent inadvertent spillage of the beverage from a drink box in the event the box tips. The valved straw prevents liquid flow while the straw is not sucked and is designed for use by one drinker.

US Patent Application No. 20040140314, issued on Jul. 22, 2004 to Hongbiao, titled “Non-spillable beverage container and straw” discloses a beverage container having a cover designed to prevent the inadvertent spillage of liquids in the event that the container tips. The cover includes a single straw opening which is sized to accommodate a separate and removable closeable straw with an orifice extending longitudinally therethrough, and a vent opening in the beverage cover having a closing means for preventing the passage of liquid and air therethrough, unless the user inhales through the straw.

US Patent Application No. 20030168462, issued on Sep. 11, 2003 to Hozumi, titled “Replacement cap for vessel” discloses a replacement cap for a drink vessel. The cap has a single tube and a cap body mounted on the mouth of the vessel designed to allow for replacement thereof. The cap body comprises an air supply port having a cup-shaped valve means which is normally closed and is opened to supply the outside air into the drink vessel when the interior of the drink vessel is at a negative pressure. The replacement cap comprises a single drinking tube.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a closure cap for using with a “closed-type” container that enables people to share drinks from that same container with other people in a hygienic manner.

The term “container” will be used in its broadest sense and will denote a bottle, thermos, water bag, drink box or carton or any other type of closed liquid container; and will be used interchangeably with any of the aforementioned terms.

The term “closed-type” refers to containers that are designed to be completely covered by a closure cap (although with the exception of air-holes; i.e. pressure equalization holes in the cap, if any). Such containers are typically portable, for example, plastic water bottles with screw-tops. This type of container is distinguished from “open-type” containers, such as pitchers, glasses, cups, mugs and the like, which are open and not generally designed to be capped.

The closure cap comprises a central member adapted for capping the container, which could be either detachably attached or integrally formed with the container; and a plurality of drinking tubes attached to the central member adapted so each tube can be individually positioned in an open drinking position, or, a closed non-drinking position, whereby a plurality of drinkers can hygienically drink in his/her turn from the container one person at a time. When the tubes are adapted in their non-drinking (closed) position, beverage cannot flow therethrough thereby preventing spillage through tubes not being used for drinking at that time.

The tubes are preferably distinguishable by any of color, shape, text or symbol marking, texture (e.g. raised letter/symbol, ribs, dots or the like), to allow each drinker to identify his/her personal drinking tube.

In particular embodiments, the drinking tubes form a liquid flow path within which there is a means for allowing a beverage to flow through the tubes in only one direction thereby preventing saliva, or liquid which has entered a drinker's mouth, from returning to the container whereby the beverage and container may be hygienically shared amongst a plurality of drinkers (up to the number of tubes). In such embodiments, the central member also contains one or more pressure equalizing holes that allow air to flow into the container in order to equalize the air pressure inside the container as the liquid is consumed. The pressure equalizing holes may also contain one or more one-way valves that prevent liquid from being spilled out of the container through those holes. The one-way valves of the pressure equalizing holes are also useful in preventing gas from carbonated drinks to escape and thereby become “flat”.

Advantages of the closure cap of the present invention include that it:

-   1) allows hygienic drinking from a single bottle by a plurality of     drinkers; -   2) prevents saliva and liquid that has entered a drinker's mouth     from returning back into the container (commonly known as     “back-wash”), thus maintaining the beverage purity; -   3) provides a means to close pressure equalization holes when there     is no drinking to thereby avoid spillage through those holes; -   4) provides equalization of pressure during “suction type” drinking     (versus pouring type) to ease drinking and obviate noise often     caused by the sudden equalization of pressure when one stops     drinking and detaches from the bottle; -   5) precludes the need for pouring a beverage from a bottle into cups     in order to allow hygienic multi-person drinking. In cases where     disposable cups are used, this saves the energy required to produce     such cups; reduces the amount of garbage produced when such cups are     thrown away; and obviates the need to carry any cups, for example     during a trip. In cases where non-disposable cups are used, this     prevents the need to wash those cups which saves water and reduces     the amount of washing detergent purchased and entering the     environment; -   6) encourages the use of large sized bottles, which on a volume     basis use less plastic (e.g. PET), thereby reducing the use of     plastics; and -   7) is compact enough to be capped on bottles using industrial bottle     capping equipment, such as used for capping sport-drink bottles, and     it can be economically manufactured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be more clearly understood upon reading the following detailed description of non-limiting exemplary embodiments thereof, with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a container closure cap of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates use of the closure cap of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 showing the beverage flow pathway through an open personal drinking tube and the air flow path into the container;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a closure cap of the present invention, the cap comprising pressure equalizing holes, and illustrating drinking tubes that are distinguishable from each other;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of a closure cap of the present invention wherein the drinking tubes do not comprise one-way valves or pressure equalizing holes;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 comprising an automatic closure for the pressure equalizing holes via one-way valves;

FIG. 8 is a front perspective cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 illustrating the beverage flow pathway through the open personal drinking tube; and

FIG. 9 is a side view of yet another embodiment of the closure cap of the present invention comprising an internal tubular member facing down and into the bottle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to particular embodiments illustrated in the drawings and described herein. No limitation to the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Further, it should be understood that the present invention includes alterations and modifications to the illustrated embodiments as well as further applications of the principles of the invention as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains.

Throughout the description, the same reference number will be used to indicate corresponding/similar components of the invention.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a closure cap 1 of the present invention is shown, comprising a central member 2 for attaching to and capping a “closed-type” beverage bottle 16 and having an attachment arrangement 3; and four personal drinking tubes 4. The cap 1 is typically detachable, however it may be alternatively designed to be integral with the bottle 16. It should be understood that attachment arrangements may include a variety of fastening means, e.g. threads, pressure fit and the like, for connecting the cap 1 to the bottle 16. The personal drinking tubes 4 typically have at least one of different colors, sizes, shapes, textures, markings and so on (see FIG. 5) so as to be distinguishable one from the other, and are intended to be used by each of a plurality of drinkers (up to four in this embodiment) while drinking from the bottle 16 one person at a time. The drinking tubes 4 are permanently attached to the central member 2.

The drinking tubes 4 are adapted to be adjustable into two positions, an open position B wherein the tubes are positioned upward to allow drinking, and a closed position A wherein the tubes are positioned downward to prevent spilling. The cap 1, and in particular the central member 2, may comprise one or more pressure equalizing holes 13, which are preferably only open when any of the drinking tubes 4 is in the open position B—as discussed below.

As seen in FIG. 2, the closure cap 1 enables each drinker to drink through his/her personal drinking tube 4 while holding the bottle 16 such that the beverage 22 inside is elevated above the mouth, and the beverage pours into the drinker's mouth, although suction may also be used to facilitate drinking.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, it is seen that the closure cap 1 and each drinking tube comprises a one-way valve 6 located in a beverage flow pathway 7 and 8 (running through the central member 2 and tubes 4, respectively), partially defined by tubing 10 located in each drinking tube 4, allowing beverage 22 to flow through the tubes in only one direction. It is seen that the pathway 9 leading to the pressure equalizing holes 13 comprises a one-way valve 5 to prevent beverage 22 from spilling out of the bottle 16 through this/these hole(s). In this embodiment the one-way valve 5 is inserted into the central member 2 through a hole 33 and is fixedly positioned and fastened in its position via a plug 11; and the personal drinking tubes 4 are permanently attached to a central member 2 in a pivoting manner via sockets 17 and corresponding protrusions 18 and recesses 19, allowing the drinking tubes to rotate upwards and downwards within the sockets 17 acting as valves for both the beverage outflow, and air inflow.

In FIG. 4, the beverage flow path 7 is best seen, and it runs through the central member 2; and the beverage flow path 8 runs through the drinking tubes 4 that permit the beverage 22 to flow through the drinking tubes 4 in only one direction, thus preventing saliva, or beverage which has entered a drinker's mouth from returning to the bottle 16. In this embodiment, the one-way valves 6 are constituted by duckbill valves which are located inside the central member 2 in the beverage pathway 20 within the central member leading to each of the drinking tubes 4 to provide for the one-way flow.

The pressure equalizing holes 13 in the central member 2 that allow for air flow via pathway 9 into the bottle 16 in order to equalize the air pressure inside the bottle as the beverage 22 is consumed by the drinker(s) are also best seen in FIG. 4. In this embodiment the (air intake) pressure equalizing holes 13 include duckbill valves constituting one-way valve 5 for preventing beverage 22 from being spilled out of the bottle 16 through this/these hole(s) 13 and allowing air flow in only one direction—into the bottle 16. The central member may further include an internal tube 12 that sticks down into the neck of the bottle 16 to help prevent air flow 9 from being sucked into the drinking tubes 4 while drinking.

The drinking tubes 4 comprise ball shaped members 32 acting as valves in the beverage flow path 8, where the beverage flow paths 7 and 8 are closed while the drinking tubes 4 are in a closed position A, and the beverage flow paths 7 and 8 are open while a drinking tube 4 is in an open position B.

In addition, the ball shaped member 32 of each drinking tube 4 acts as a valve for the airflow intake 9, where the airflow intake pathway 9 is closed while the drinking tubes are in a closed position A, and the airflow intake 9 is open while one of the drinking tubes 4 is in an open position B. This feature provides better sealing while none of the drinking tubes 4 are in use, such as when the bottle 16 is placed in storage. Thus, in this embodiment a drinking tube 4 must moved to an upward orientation in order to allow the beverage flow and the air intake flow.

Referring to FIG. 5, another embodiment of the closure cap 1 is shown comprising two drinking tubes 4, protruding from the top of the central member 2. The two drinking tubes 4 are visually distinguishable via different raised numeric markings 29 imprinted on each one. To illustrate how the tubes 4 can be distinguished in a variety of ways, the tubes are also shown having different colors, textures 30, shapes and sizes, although typically one such feature is sufficient for a drinker to easily distinguish and remember which is his/her drinking tube 4.

FIG. 6 shows exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention wherein the cap 1 does not comprise one-way valves or air-intake holes, thus providing the benefit of a lower manufacturing unit price. The cap 1 is connected to the bottle 16 using a standard threading 31.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 further illustrating the central member 2 having an automatic closure means attached thereto, constituted by a base valve member 25 that holds two one-way valves 6 (exemplified by umbrella valves) that prevent beverage 22 that has entered a drinker's mouth or saliva from returning into the bottle 16, and another one-way valve 5 that prevents beverage from being spilled out of the bottle through the air intake or pressure equalizing hole(s) 13.

FIG. 8 presents further exemplary details of the drinking tubes 4 of the embodiment of FIG. 5. The drinking tubes 4 are permanently attached to a central member 2, allowing each of them to be pulled upwards to an “opened” position B, up to a “stop” (in the form of a rib 26) allowing beverage flow 7 through a drinking tube tip 27. When the drinker finishes drinking he/she pushes the drinking tube 4 back downward to the closed position A until the beverage pathway is sealed by a seal 28 preventing beverage outflow. The one-way valves 6 held by the base member 25 permit beverage 22 to flow through the drinking tubes 4 in only one direction 7, thus preventing saliva, or beverage which has entered a drinker's mouth from returning to the container.

Referring now to FIG. 9, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the central member 1 includes an internal tubular member 34 facing down and into the bottle 16 allowing the drinkers to drink from the container while the bottle is standing in an upright position via suction—similar to drinking with a straw.

It should be understood that there are various closure caps that can be devised according to the present invention and that the above described embodiments are merely explanatory. Thus, the present apparatus and method can be embodied in a variety of aspects falling within the scope of the present invention, mutatis mutandis. 

1. A closure cap for capping a closed-type beverage container, the cap comprising: a central member adapted for said capping of said container; and a plurality of drinking tubes attached to said central member and adapted so each of the drinking tubes can be individually positioned in an open drinking position or a closed position.
 2. The closure cap according to claim 1, wherein each of the drinking tubes or the central member comprise a one-way valve allowing the beverage to flow through the drinking tubes in only the outward direction, thereby preventing saliva, or beverage that has entered a drinker's mouth, from returning to the container.
 3. The closure cap according to claim 1, wherein the central member comprises one or more pressure equalizing holes for facilitating equalization of pressure between the inside and outside of the container as the beverage is consumed, to ease drinking.
 4. The closure cap according to claim 3, wherein the pressure equalizing holes comprise one or more check valves to prevent spillage via the holes.
 5. The closure cap according to claim 3, wherein the central member and drinking tubes are adapted so that the one or more pressure equalizing holes are automatically closed when any of the drinking tubes are closed.
 6. The closure cap according to claim 1, wherein the drinking tubes are distinguishable from each other and for that purpose comprise one of the following distinguishing features: different colors, different shapes, different sizes, different markings, different text or symbols, different textures or combinations thereof.
 7. The closure cap according to claim 1 wherein the central member further comprises an internal tubular member extending toward the inner part of the container, allowing the drinkers to drink from the container while the container is standing in an upright position via suction.
 8. The closure cap according to claim 1, wherein the central member is adapted to be detachably attached from the beverage container.
 9. The closure cap according to claim 1, wherein the central member is adapted to be integrally formed with the beverage container. 